Two Late Scores Lift the Lions in a Defensive Battle

By Jackson Thibodeau, GoPSUsports.com
Student Staff WriterUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Outstanding goalkeeping and a swarming Bucknell
defense kept the Penn State field hockey team scoreless in the first half of
play for the first time in nearly two seasons on Tuesday night.

It had been 23 games since the Nittany Lions were held without a goal in the
first half, but a well-executed offensive attack in the final 35 minutes earned
two late scores for Penn State, propelling them to a 2-0 win over Bucknell.

"We weren't on the same page in the first half," said head coach Charlene
Morett regarding her team's offensive communication.

"But in the second half they honestly just put a clinic on and did a lot of
great things."

The Nittany Lions were able to tally 16 shots in the first half alone, but nine
Bucknell saves and a defense that swarmed around Penn State's most prolific
scorer kept the hosts off the board for an alarmingly long time.

Kelsey Amy, the team's leading scorer (51 points this season), was held without
a goal for just the third time this fall.

"They shut [Kelsey] down and that doesn't happen often," said Morett.

Amy's presence on the field didn't go unnoticed on Tuesday night, as the senior
registered an assist and brought intense physicality for the entire 70 minutes.

"We did a great job keeping our poise given the circumstances," Amy said in
reference to the gritty, physical play and to being held off the scoreboard for
nearly 60 minutes.

"We are going to experience physicality no matter who we play so I think just
having the poise to play through that is a good thing to have."

The Penn State sideline breathed a huge sigh of relief midway through the
second half after a steal in the offensive zone led to a beautiful set up and a
goal for sophomore Taylor Herold.

Herold's goal completely shifted the game's momentum in favor of the Nittany
Lions and allowed them to play with less of a frantic demeanor as time dwindled
down.

Just five minutes after the first goal, Penn State took the ball into the
offensive zone again and forced a penalty stroke, which junior Brittany
Grzywacz and her 100 percent penalty stroke success rate capitalized on and
gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead.

"We knew that it wasn't the end of the world that we hadn't scored yet so we
just kept our composure and played our game," said Grzywacz in reference to the
two late scores.

As for what kept the Nittany Lions scoreless for so long, players and coaches
alike referenced a tough Bucknell defense and a lack of offensive
communication.

"We need to work on our positioning around the goal," said Herold. "We need to
work on being in our spots and being ready."

The defensive battle served as the final regular season home game for the
Nittany Lions this season, but the team could potentially host an NCAA
Tournament game if they are a top four seed.

Penn State, now with a 14-3 overall record and a 4-1 Big Ten record, has just
one game remaining before entering tournament play.

The Nittany Lions will travel to East Lansing to square off against Michigan
State on Saturday and, with a Northwestern loss to Iowa, would secure the Big
Ten regular season championship with a victory over the Spartans.

Penn State lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Northwestern in September in
Evanston.

"We've been really dialed in on winning a Big Ten championship," said Morett.
"It is going to be really exciting that we have the opportunity for it to be in
our hands."

Game time is slated for noon on Saturday in East Lansing while Iowa and
Northwestern will square off at noon on Sunday.